Second Thoughts
by AGB-13
Summary: WARNING! CHOCK FULL OF C.A.R.A.M.E.L. SPOILERS! Abby and Heiny, after the events of Op. C.A.R.A.M.E.L., go on one more candy hunting expedition, where they start to consider what they REALLY want. 5H
1. Chapter 1

**SPOILER WARNING!**

**THIS FIC IS POST-C.A.R.A.M.E.L.**

**THE EPISODE HAS NOT AIRED IN THE U.S. YET (but you could probably find it on Stardrifter's KND forum)**

**NONE OF THIS WILL MAKE SENSE TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET.**

**But if you _really_ wanna know what happened in the episode, try the C.A.R.A.M.E.L. or Episode Download threads on Stardrifter's forum (I can't link to it, for some reason, so you might have to do a little Googling)**

**---**

**Welcome to the first 5/H collab! This was written by me and my fellow Candy Raiders, Cindy Neutron and Teh-Drabbler.**

**Believe it or not, we were _completely_ cool with the ending of C.A.R.A.M.E.L.**

**No, seriously. We were.**

**...okay, I lied. But we DID get more material to work with.**

**Here is the first chapter, written by me. Please to enjoy...**

**---**

_Location: The von Marzipan residence; Munich, Germany_

_Time: 3:15 A.M._

Henrietta von Marzipan woke with a start, as her sleep was being interrupted by a loudly ringing cell phone. She glanced quickly at her nearby alarm clock and, grumbling, grabbed for her cell phone on her nightstand. She quickly flipped it open and read the number before answering.

"Abigail, do you haff _any_ idea vhat time it is here?" she whispered, as she picked up a monocle from her nightstand and put it on.

"Why, did I wake you up?" the voice on the other end asked.

"_Ja_...oh, vell, at least it's not _ein_ school night..."

"So you finally got outta school? Geez, Heiny, I still can't believe kids in Germany get out in _July_...anyway, how're things now that you're a girl again? From what I hear, you couldn't keep up the little personality change."

"Did you vake me up just for zat?"

"Nah, Numbuh Five just wanted to know how you were doin' first. I called for another reason."

"_Und_ vhat is zat?"

"You still into candy-hunting?"

"Abigail, I haffn't changed ZAT much. Vhy do you ask?"

"Let's just say we're goin' on another mission together...if you wanna, that is."

Henrietta's aggravation at Abigail vanished, and was replace by intrigue and curiousity.

"Go on..." she said.

---

_Location: Tiananmen Square; Beijing, China_

_Time: 12:30 PM_

_Numbuh Five should've picked somewhere less crowded_, Abby thought, as she scoped the gigantic city square for Henrietta. She had been waiting for her for about half an hour. Just then, Abby noticed a familiar blonde girl wandering around, trying to find her way around.

"Hey, Heiny!" Abby shouted. Henrietta, recognizing the nickname that annoyed her to no end, spotted Abby, and ran in her direction.

"Do you...realize..." she panted, "How long...I vas looking for you?"

"Chill out, Heiny." Abby said, "Believe it or not, this ain't the biggest city in the country."

"So, vat do you haff in mind, anyway?" Henrietta asked, after catching her breath. Abby pulled out an old, beat-up map from her pocket, and handed it to her. Henrietta, a little more curious now, opened it up.

"See that area right there?" Abby asked, pointing to a location on the map, "In that spot, miles south of here, there's rumored to be a huge cave, called the Móshù Táng Caverns. It's completely made of the rarest - and, from what Numbuh Five hears, sweetest - rock candy. Of course...we both know there's always a catch with these kinds of rare candy."

"You mean it's supposed to be cursed?"

"Kind of..."

"Vait...since vhen do _you_ go after ze cursed candy? Veren't_ you _ze one who tried to keep me from going into the tomb of King Twotonsofcandy because it vas cursed?"

"Heiny, let me finish. See, the rock candy's kinda like some _certain_ caramels in how they can sometimes change you completely. But here, it can go either way. When you take a bite of the candy, you either get what you want the most, or turn into what you want to be the least. By the way, bringing up the caramels reminded me of something - you never told me how things are goin' now that you're a girl again."

"It's...it's been different zen I expected." Henrietta answered, a little hesitant, "But I'll get used to it."

"Well, we should get going..." Abby said, "Did ya bring the candy copter?"

"Ja. Say, vhy didn't ve just meet near ze cavern?"

"Well, Numbuh One heard I was going to China, and wanted to use the chance to schedule a meeting with Sector C and...ah, it's a long story. I'll tell ya on the way."

As the kids walked across the square, Henrietta was thinking about how she had answered Abby's question.

_I can't tell her I got too used to being _ein_ boy_, she thought, _Zat vould just lead to me telling her about how I was starting to feel...differently about her before I svitched back, _und_ zat vould just be a veird moment..._

_Man_, thought Abby, _I just hope Heiny doesn't find out the _biggest_ reason we're going to this cavern..._

_---_

**A little FYI - the next few updates should be pretty quick, since we've already gotten Chapters 1-4 written.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Cindy Neutron's turn!**

**---**

Chapter Two:

"So, ve haff to meet zese...Sector C _kinder_, zhen?" Henrietta asked, adjusting her monocle.

"No, no..I already stopped in and saw them," Abby rolled her eyes as she thought back on the meeting. There had been quite a few problems with translation, and she still wondered if the translator was actually telling the other kids what she was saying...they were giggling too much for her tastes. "Numbuh 5 is all ready to get to that cave."

"_Ja_, zhat is good," Henrietta said, nodding. "Err...Abigail? Did I ever zhank you for turning me back?"

"Quite a few times, actually, Heiny...and Numbuh 5 thinks it's outta character for you," Abby turned around and faced the pretty blonde. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? _und_ vhat could be wrong? Wrong! Ha...you make me laugh, _mien_ Abigail..." Henrietta threw in an unconvincing giggle. Abby frowned.

_Numbuh 5 thinks Heiny's hiding something...He...uh...she's never acted like this before. Not even before she ate those caramels...But then, the strange behavior is why Numbuh 5's here in the first place._

"Whatever, Heiny," Abby said instead, deciding not to call her up on it. "So, where's the copter?"

"It's _ein_ little bit avay," Henrietta said, taking the lead. Not easily, though. Within a moment the two were back to their strange, but relatively friendly, rivalry. First Abby fell into step, but then her speed started to increase, until Henrietta had fallen behind a little bit. "Vould you vait, please?! You don't even know vhere ze copter is!" She sped up until she was a bit ahead of Abby. She smirked.

Surprisingly enough, so did Abby. _So...some things are still like when she was a boy..._ Abby let out a strange sigh of relief. This had been a test. A way for her to figure out just how much Heiny had changed. Apparently it was only on the outside. On the inside she was still very much Heinrich Von Marzipan.

"Ha, I vin, Abigail!" the gloating broke Abby from her thoughts. She had walked as she thought, and now found herself a foot or so from the candy copter, which Heiny was leaning against, smiling about her win over Abby.

"It wasn't a race, Heiny," Abby teased, climbing into the copter. "How do you fly this thing?"

"Zhat is for me to know," Henrietta said, "and you to never find out." She motioned for Abby to scoot over so that she, Henrietta, could have the driver's seat. Abby decided not to mess with the other girl this time, and willingly moved over.

"All right," Abby said, pulling out the map and spreading it out, "This should be a really fast trip by copter...Numbuh 5 doubts it'll take more than ten minutes. The cave is over here," she pointed to one spot of the map, "And we're over here," she pointed to another spot that was practically next to the other on the map.

"Almost too simple," Henrietta said dismissively. She suddenly felt Abby's gaze on her and shifted to look up. "Vhat? Vhat?! Vhy do you keep staring at me?" she demanded.

Abby smiled. "Nothin...just studying an old friend." Abby sunk back into her chair as she allowed herself further introspection. _She wasn't like this before she ate the caramels...Numbuh 5 doesn't think they changed anything inside her, so ...why is she acting like she was as Heinrich? ...and why is Numbuh 5 happy that she is?_

**---**

**Again, after Chapter Four (or possibly Chapter Five), don't expect the updates to be this quick. Like I said, we've already got 1-4 written. (Plus, I'm going to be out of town next week)**


	3. Chapter 3

**This one's by Teh-Drabbler!**

**---**

**Chapter 3**

The two girls stared blankly at the huge mountain of rock candy. Neither was sure what they had been expecting, but they had not been expecting this… this…

This _tourist attraction _.

Bright banners were draped from pillars. Colorful dragons guarded the entrance to the temple. Foreigners paused to snap photos at every opportunity. The shrine was crowded and noisy with visitors and monks alike. But these were not just any monks. These monks were selling things.

Abby sighed. Her Chinese had always been weak, but she knew enough to translate the banner advertising "lucky rock candy" from the sacred caverns for only 40 Yuan.

Henrietta's blue eyes were icy. "Is _zis_ vhat you call 'candy hunting', Abigail?"

"Save it, Heiny," Abby spat. "I'm just as disappointed as you are."

"Somehow, I doubt it."

_You have no idea_, Abby thought, leading the way into the temple. They came all this way, so might as well pick up some souvenirs.

"Welcome, young travelers." The young monk sat behind a long table, bags of rock candy scattered across the table with even more displayed on the counter behind him. "You are here to sample the legendary rock candies of Móshù Táng Caverns, yes?"

Henrietta snorted derisively, earning a soft elbow in the side from Abby. Henrietta merely crossed her arms as her frown deepened. "Sorry," Abby apologized to the monk. "My friend and me… well, we were expecting something a little less…public."

"You mean you didn't hear about us in the brochure?"

Abby grimaced. "No… we had a map." _A _fake_ map,_ she thought bitterly, remembering all the trouble it had been to get. _Maybe it's for the best. It was a dumb idea, anyway._

"A map?" the monk asked, suddenly losing interest in his sales pitch. "Might I see this map? We might be interested in… buying it. For our museum."

Henrietta's head snapped around, blue eyes narrowing suspiciously. Abby felt her spine tense, but kept her face blank. Abby knew she and Heiny were thinking the same thing: no one bought—or even offered to buy—a worthless map.

This guy—this _monk_—might know something. Letting him see it might get them information, or they could lose the map entirely. And if this place wasn't the real caverns, if Móshù Táng was somewhere else, they wanted to find it. They _had_ to.

But… was it worth the risk?

Abby studied the monk for a moment, then pulled the map from her backpack and handed it to him.

"Abigail!"

Abby yanked her shocked friend close and hissed in her ear, "We're stuck right now. If we're even gonna have a shot at this thing, we gotta see if he knows something."

Henrietta glared at the monk for a minute, then crossed her arms and said nothing.

The monk unfolded the parchment carefully, studying the ancient markings like someone who knew what to look for. His expression was blank. Unreadable. After a long, silent minute, he folded the paper, placed a sign featuring a pair of characters on the table, and looked at the girls.

"Come with me."


	4. Chapter 4

**...well, I think you should've figured out the writing order here, but for the slow ones, this one was written by me.**

**---**

**Chapter 4**

The monk led the two girls into the cavern. Henrietta and Abby looked around at their surroundings. Some of the rock candy covering the cavern walls - or, at least what wasn't obscured by the throngs of tourists - was either colored a pale red or a very, very light blue, and would now and then switch between the colors. Suddenly, their guide stopped near a fork in the road. One passageway was large, and filled with more visitors, while the other was narrow, and blocked off with a rope. On it was a sign with a row of characters, and an English translation below that read "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY - KEEP OUT".

"This way." the monk said, detaching the rope from a hook it had been tied to, and leading the girls inside before he retied the rope. The monk led them further down the tunnel, and both girls noticed that, the further they got, the deeper the colors of the candy became. Eventually, the monk stopped, and Abby stepped out from behind him to see where he had led them.

"Heiny!" she called to her friend, "You better get over here and see this." Henrietta caught up with her friend, and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight.

The tunnel had led them to a whole other part of the cave. It was a giant area - almost like another cave altogether - with the sides of it rounded, and almost entirely covered in red and blue rock candy, alternating even more between the colors. There were a few bare spots on the floor of it, and way, way at the top, in between a few stalagtites of candy was a crack, in which sunlight was streaming through and reflecting off of some of the rock candy.

"The tourists," the monk began to explain, "think that the candy out there is the same as the rock candy that has been reputed to transform the one who consumes it - when in fact, _this_ is it. The candy near the cavern's opening is harmless, although not as sweet, so we only let them go near that. This rock candy, however...well, if you have a map, I'm sure you know the first part of the legend. I should probably point out that when the candy is blue, it causes the good transformation, while the red...I don't even think I have to say what that does. However, the chances of any transformation occuring are _much_ lower than you would think."

"Perhaps zis trip vas vorth it..." Henrietta thought aloud, still gazing at the sight.

"So, tell me, what is your purpose here, anyway? A map like this requires some difficulty to get...you must have a good reason for coming all this way and going through all that trouble."

"Just some harmless candy hunting - "

"Wait...you're...you're not one of _them_, are you?!"

"What're you talking about?"

"Well...every 13 years, usually in July, and always during the new moon, the candy's powers grows stronger, to the point where a transformation is guaranteed when eating it. The candy in this chamber of the cavern normally clings unusually tight to the walls, but it becomes easier to take off at this time. Plus, it has been reputed to taste its best at this time. All these changes provide a perfect opportunity for candy hunters, candy pirates, and others of that..._type _to invade the caverns and start looting. Of course, some do pay for it when they bite into the candy and get the unwanted transformation. And the monks have done a good job for the past hundreds of years. But last time...well, I'd rather not discuss it."

"We're not here for that." Abby assured him, "Heck, we're probably not even gonna take that much."

"Just be sure to leave before dusk." the monk warned her, then left.

"Well, Heiny," Abby said, "Let's get started, Heiny." There was silence, and Abby realized Henrietta was no longer there.

"Heiny?" she called, "Heiny?! Henrietta?!" Abby dashed out of the tunnel, and stepped onto a bare part of the cave floor, about to look for her partner.

"I'm over here, Abigail!" Henrietta's voice called out. Abby looked to her left, in the direction of the voice, to see the German girl had already gone pretty far, and was looking for a place to start collecting the candy.

"Vell?" Henrietta asked Abby, not paying attention to where she was going, "Are you going to help me or - AAAAAAH!" Henrietta's scream was caused by her falling into a hole neither she nor Abby had seen coming. Abby dashed over to where she had falled, and looked into the hole, which was about five feet deep..

"You okay?" Abby asked, as, inside, Henrietta dusted herself from the fall.

"_Ja_."

"Here," Abby said, extending her arm out to Henrietta, "Lemme help ya out." Henrietta grabbed Abby's hand, and Abby pulled her out of the hole.

"_Danke_..." Henrietta muttered.

"Geez, Heiny," Abby commented, "Seems like every time ya go candy hunting, you always get yourself in some kinda trouble, and I gotta get you out of it."

"You don't haff to help me." Henrietta said, "I could haff gotten _mein_self out of zat hole vithout you..."

"What about when you were a chocolate monster? When the licorice pirates kidnapped you? When you were a _guy_?"

Henrietta had no response, and Abby could tell from her expression that she was having trouble thinking of a way to defend her point.

"C'mon..." Abby said, "Let's see how much candy we can get before it gets late."


End file.
